by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 15 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for genetics students pursuing a doctor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 374 doctor's degrees in genetics to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of genetics for getting your doctor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality genetics program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for genetics students working on their doctor's degree.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Genetics Doctor's Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in genetics.
It is difficult to beat University of Chicago if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in genetics. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a doctorate in genetics from University of Chicago
Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in genetics has to look into Duke University. Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.
Soon after graduating, genetics doctorate recipients typically make around $62,465 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a doctorate in genetics from Duke University
It's difficult to beat Cornell University if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in genetics. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in genetics from Cornell University
Every student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in genetics needs to look into University of Wisconsin - Madison. UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison.More information about a doctorate in genetics from University of Wisconsin - Madison
WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.More information about a doctorate in genetics from Washington University in St Louis
Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.More information about a doctorate in genetics from Yale University
Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in genetics from Johns Hopkins University
Pitt is a very large public university located in the city of Pittsburgh.More information about a doctorate in genetics from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus
Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in genetics from Stanford University
UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the city of Seattle.More information about a doctorate in genetics from University of Washington - Seattle Campus
View the Best Genetics Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
Genetics is one of 14 different types of Biological & Biomedical Sciences programs to choose from.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Genetics | 169 |
| Human/Medical Genetics | 87 |
| Molecular Genetics | 56 |
| Genome Sciences/Genomics | 23 |
| Animal Genetics | 18 |
| Other Genetics | 12 |
| Plant Genetics | 9 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Biology | 1,911 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology | 1,118 |
| Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology | 950 |
| Neurobiology & Neurosciences | 822 |
| Cell Biology & Anatomical Sciences | 812 |
| Physiology & Pathology Sciences | 658 |
| Microbiological Sciences & Immunology | 646 |
| Biomathematics & Bioinformatics | 606 |
| Pharmacology & Toxicology | 424 |
| Biological & Biomedical Sciences (Other) | 276 |